The latest innovations in Social Media Advertising

Facebook's Advanced Location Targeting

Facebook is far and away the most common activity on a mobile device (bigger than the next 10 activities combined!) and the majority of Facebook interactions are mobile. This creates a powerful opportunity for marketers to reach consumers wherever they are via Mobile.

To take advantage of this, Facebook recently released new capabilities for Geographic Targeting that marketers will find exciting.

Where Are They?

Facebook first integrated Geographic targeting allowing advertisers to target specific Countries, States, Cities, and even Zip Codes. Last year they launched the Local Awareness Ads product which makes it easy for Brick-and-Mortar Retailers to enter their address and target potential customers who are near their specific store. (See CitizenNet’s Blog Post on Facebook’s Local Awareness Ads).

This same functionality now exists for any ad type (not just Local Awareness Ads) so businesses can target customers who are near their competitors’ stores or in a particular location (centered on a specific address) that might have a specific context. For example, a Sporting Goods store might target people at Dodger’s Stadium with an ad for Dodger’s gear or Baseball Gloves.

This “geofencing” around a specific address can be done in a radius of 10, 25 or 50 miles. Best practice is typically to test each of these variations and then optimize media to the best performing targeting that delivers the desired volume at the desired efficiency.

Where Are They NOT?

This same functionality can be used to EXCLUDE audiences around specific locations as well. This can be valuable if one campaign is offering a specific coupon for neighborhood residents, but a different campaign is offering a more aggressive promotion to stimulate buyers from outside the normal area. This exclusion would keep the local residents from seeing the offer - EVEN if they work someplace different than where they live.

When Were They There?

The Advanced Location Targeting capability includes the ability to target different subsegments of a geographic audience based on when they are in this location. Facebook can tell where you live (vs. work or travel) based on when you are accessing the application from your mobile device. The Advanced Location Targeting can include everyone who is CURRENTLY in the target location or just people who LIVE there. This is obviously valuable for understanding the context of the user (are they out shopping or are they at home?) and shaping the messaging strategy accordingly. Overlaying targeting via connection type (WiFi, 3G etc.) provides even more insight into who is out and about vs. who is on the couch.

Additionally, Facebook makes it easy to capture both groups and a larger audience by targeting EVERYONE in that area (includes current, lives there and visiting).

Why Are They There?

As mentioned above, Facebook can target users who are specifically “visiting” an area. A user is defined as a visitor if their home is more than 100 miles away from their current location. Visitors are obviously in a very different mindset than a local who is at home or a local who is out running errands. Not only is the messaging strategy different for these specific contexts, but there are obvious categories (hotels, etc.) who would have particular interest in reaching area visitors.

Although this functionality is not completely new, last year Facebook added the option to target Travel Intenders for a specific area. Travel Intenders are those users Facebook identified as planning to travel to a specific location. This intent is derived through some Facebook “secret sauce,” but likely includes the users’ and their friends’ comments, postings, as well as off-site activity on travel sites that may have open-graph integrations and are tracking user behavior off Facebook. Again, there are clear opportunities for specific advertiser categories, and specific messaging based on reaching users with intent to travel to a specific location. Bikinis for the Beach? Skis for the Mountains?

Advanced Location Targeting: The Right Place, The Right People with The Right Message

Each of these geo-specific targeting strategies can be combined with other targeting strategies to zero in on the most valuable prospects. Through further segmentation and creative testing, advertisers can use location as a signal for context and intent while layering on targeted demographics, interests and behaviors to have specific ad creative more likely to generate response.

These Geo-targeting capabilities, combined with the fact that Facebook’s Mobile Ad Unit is much more compelling than the tiny banners hidden in other mobile apps, makes Facebook a powerful mobile solution for marketers of many different products and services.